Trump says he will get peace in the Middle East 'done' by talking to Turkey's Erdogan

US
President Donald Trump meets with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
of Turkey during the UN General Assembly in New York, US,
September 21, 2017.REUTERS/Kevin
Lamarque

President Donald Trump will speak to Turkish President
Tayyip Erdogan about peace in the Middle East on
Friday.

Erdogan has taken steps to distance Turkey from Europe
and NATO and increase ties with Russia.

Turkey backs a Russian-led peace initiative in Syria
that favors Iran, and Trump may be going along with
it.

President Donald Trump tweeted on Friday
morning that he will "will get it all done" in regard
to establishing peace in the Middle East while bashing the "mess"
he inherited when he came to office.

"Will be speaking to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of
Turkey this morning about bringing peace to the mess that I
inherited in the Middle East. I will get it all done, but what a
mistake, in lives and dollars (6 trillion), to be there in the
first place!" Trump tweeted.

Erdogan, along with Iran's leadership, have been involved
with Russia's push to find a political settlement to stop the
fighting in Syria, recently backing Moscow's plan to hold a peace
congress.

But many foreign policy observers point out that Russia
seeks to create a Syrian state more aligned with its own
interests and Iran's, which openly considers the US an enemy. For
that reason, participating in a Russian-led peace process in
Syria could be seen as countering US national interests.

Additionally, Trump has taken a hard line on Iran and
unveiled a new strategy to contain the theocratic country after
decertifying the Iran deal. Backing Russia's peace push could end
up empowering Iran as Trump has sought to avoid.

Turkey has frequently butted heads with its NATO allies,
recently withdrawing from an
exercise in Norway where Erdogan alleged that he and other
Turkish officials were listed as enemies in the wargames.

Erdogan's crackdown on journalists and citizens in the wake
of the July 2016 attempted coup has also been decried by human rights
activists who claim he's abusing his power.

In his tweet on Friday morning, Trump seemed ok with
ignoring Turkey's recent lurch towards authoritarianism, the
crimes of Turkish security forces against US citizens in
Washington DC, and Erdogan's NATO-bashing so he could talk about
bringing a peace to Syria, where war has killed and displaced
millions.